Anniversary
by baestia
Summary: In which Gray deals with his parents' death as an ice devil slayer with Erza's help. Oneshot.


It was cold. Gray knew it would be freezing to any normal person, but it was cold to him, an ice mage. Snow had covered Magnolia's ground like a blanket. It's perfect, undisturbed surface kept children from playing around for only a bit. The cold season was always favorited by Gray. There was no better time to take more quests and earn more money.

But Tartaros left him with more than a new type of magic and it wasn't the snow that made him cold, it was something else. Gray knew that even Natsu could tell that something had happened, something that was going untold. The river before the raven was frozen solid, he bet he could walk on it. But he dare not more from his spot sitting next to it. Someone might spot him and bring him back to the guild.

Christmas season would always be a tough time for Gray. Deliora's roar could be heard as clear as day to him and he would never forget his parents' determination to make sure he stayed alive. Gray's mother, a respected woman in Isvan, shielded her son from Deliora's attack with her body. He never could un-see the horrible burn marks and all the blood. His father, one of the notable mages of the village, had taken hard hits to the head and abdomen, which caused him to die of the blood loss. Gray remembered the light go out of his father's eyes and wishing that they would come back and it was all a dream.

It was never a dream and his father, Silver, came back as an ice devil slayer. Watching his own dad die twice in a lifetime was something he never wanted to ever experience. Gray tended to take more quests not only because of how much more money he received, but also to stay away from the guild in case someone noticed his depressed demeanor.

His love-hate relationship with winter was strong. The increase in his abilities versus haunting memories that would come back stronger than ever. And now there was a physical reminder that kept him remembering, his ice devil slayer mark. Gray admitted to himself that nightmares did visit him quite often of his past and any possible destruction in the future, but he would never admit it to the entire guild. He imagined Mira would fuss over him and Natsu would use it some way to his advantage and Cana would get him to drink a bit more.

A voice behind Gray disturbed his thoughts. "Gray, I've been looking for you. We need you back at the guild. There is a good job that Team Natsu can take for a lot of money. Lucy needs rent money and it's also in the Northern region, so I thought you would enjoy the cold weather more."

Erza stood behind the raven, dressed in a think winter coat and boots, even though Gray knew she was wearing her armor underneath. The look in her eyes was worried, which made Gray turn away.

"You guys can take this one. I'm going solo for a bit while the nice weather lasts. I get more money this way. And also, the guild might be fooled into thinking you changed your armor for the coat, but I know you still have it on underneath." Gray replied solemnly.

The scarlet took a deep breath in and walked up to the river's edge in order to sit next to Gray. "You know me almost too well. But Gray, why are you wearing armor?"

Gray looked at Erza and cocked his head. "What do you mean? I'm only wearing pants and my coat."

Erza looked Gray in the eyes. "That's not what I meant. You know that I know something's up. It's not like you to sulk like this Gray. Don't forget, I know you well too."

The raven took a deep sigh. "You said you know me well, what would I usually be doing this time of year, Erza?"

"You would be taking jobs, showing off a bit. Though I never saw you often..."

"That's it. I took jobs. Maybe I made a few ice sculptures for kids to marvel at and play with. It's the anniversary."

The scarlet looked confused for a moment, not understanding Gray's words. "The anniversary? What do you mean, Gray?"

"My parents died today."

Erza suddenly was frozen. She had no clue, since Gray never told anyone. It was only two days before Christmas. Looking back on it, Erza never saw him at any of the Fairy Tail Christmas parties. Her heart weighed down heavily at the thought of Gray crying, alone, all by himself, every year on the anniversary of his parents' death.

A conversation she had long ago came to mind. "You know, a boy once asked me why I was always crying alone when I liked to be alone. He taught me the true meaning of the word nakama and I will never forget it."

Gray cracked a weak smile. "I was an angry, persistent kid, wasn't I? I originally was going to fight you when I saw you crying. There was no way I could ever face you in a battle after that."

"But you have armor on. You can't forget the meaning of the word nakama too, Gray. We will always be here for you."

The raven pressed a hand to his face, trying to stop the tears that were slowly falling from his eyes. Erza took him into her arms, helping him break down his armor like he had done to her all those years ago. Gray broke away, looking at the frozen river again.

"When Deliora attacked Isvan, we were having dinner. Then there was an earthquake... And the blood... And-"

Gray's voice was cut off by another wave of sadness. Erza returned her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. The raven's lips were cold compared to the scarlet's, but it didn't matter for they both were quickly lost within another world.

The perfect surface of the snow was like Gray's way of dealing with death. It went undisturbed and untouched for so long, the reason being no one wanted to disrupt it. But now Erza had made her set of footprints on the snow, marking it with her influence. Gray would always have times where he would break down and would always have the black marks on his skin to remind him of his parents' deaths, but Erza would always be there too. They guided each other through sorrow because they knew it all too well and how to keep it hidden, but not from each other.

The S-Class wizard stood up, dusting the snow off of her clothes. "So, does taking down some bad guys sound good? Let's go take that quest."

She held her hand out to Gray, who took it without hesitation. "Let's hope Natsu hasn't burned down the guild yet."

Her laugh was the most beautiful sound he had heard in ages. "Let's hope."

Yes, it may be cold and the snow around them may not be as perfect looking at it was before, but there was one thing that kept Gray thinking that everything was better that before. And it was that Erza's hand was warm.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed! I will upload the second chapter of Fear later this week, I just needed to write this since it has been on my mind for a while. :]**


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